Gardens by the Bay Supertrees
Singapore
66,340 sf. Living Wall Vertical Gardens

Greenroofs.com Featured Project October 20, 2020

What the world needs now is some well deserved joy and inspiration, and what better way than to highlight a simply fantastic living architecture design of magnificent proportions? One of my favorite projects on Earth is the entirety of the massive horticultural park Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, and specifically its Supertrees are sublime in their combination of biodiverse aesthetics and environmental technologies.

Gardens by the Bay under construction as seen from the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark (Marina Barrage in the background). Image: Linda S. Velazquez, 2010

Image: Linda S. Velazquez, 2015

Aramis and I were lucky enough to visit Gardens by the Bay when it was under construction in late 2010 and again in late 2015. As I’ve said before, if you travel to the beautiful island country of Singapore, its sheer amount of greenery in the built environment and many feats of engineering will astound you – and you cannot miss visiting Gardens by the Bay! I guarantee the dizzying yet majestic Supertrees’ vertical structures will inspire you with their biomimicry and ecological engineering and design.

Image: ©Grant Associates

Excerpt from Greenroofs.com Project Profile:

The 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay brings to life the National Parks Board Singapore’s vision of creating a City in a Garden. A remarkable blend of nature, technology, environmental management and imagination, the park is a showcase of horticulture and garden artistry. Consisting of three waterfront gardens, the concept draws inspiration from an orchid. Designed by Grant Associates as masterplanners, Bay South Garden is the largest at 54 hectares.

At the heart of the design are the now iconic 25, 30, 37, 42, and 50 meter high Supertrees. 18 vertical gardens offer a framework to sustain air plants, tropical flowering climbers, and ferns, provide water harvesting and spectacular light displays, and much more via intelligent environmental infrastructure.

Image by Darren So, courtesy of © Andrew Grant Associates

The Supertree comprises 4 major parts created by structural engineers Atelier One with Atelier 10 as environmental engineers: the Reinforcement concrete core; the Trunk, its steel frame attached around the reinforcement concrete core; Planting panels, installed on the trunk for the planting of the living skin; and the Canopy, where 11 Supertrees have photovoltaic cells to harvest solar energy, others include rainwater harvesting and some are integrated with the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest Cooled Conservatories and energy centre to serve as air exhausts, which were designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects.

Over 226,000 plants comprising more than 200 species and varieties of bromeliads, orchids, ferns and tropical vines are planted on the 18 Supertrees.

Image: Grant Associates

In the day the Supertrees’ large canopies provide shade and shelter. At night, the Supertrees come alive with lighting and projected media, putting on Garden Rhapsody, a dazzling show of coordinated lights and background music. The Supertree Grove also contains the OCBC Skyway and the Supertree Observatory.

A 128-metre-long aerial walkway, the OCBC Skyway connects the two 42-metre Supertrees offering visitors to take in a different view of the Gardens from a height of 22 metres. Located at the canopy of the tallest 50-metre Supertree, the new 3-level Supertree Observatory allows 360 degree panoramic vistas of the lush surroundings of Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay skyline.

Supertree Grove Singapore (36623029551) (2) by dronepicr – Supertree Grove Singapore CC BY 2.0 via Wikipedia

More

Compared to the Supertrees’ land area of 780m2, its vegetative footprint is astounding:

The Supertrees’ surface planting envelops a whopping 6,165m2 of lush biodiversity.

The Supertrees are highly sophisticated structures that are spectacular vertical gardens and landmark features, and at another level are environmental engines testing the extremes of horticulture, structure and digital technologies.

Image: Grant Associates, Supertrees at Night – Photo Credit: Darren Chin

Year: 2012
Owner: Gardens by the Bay
Location: Singapore
Building Type: Park
Type: Living Walls
System: Custom
Size: 66,340 sq.ft.
Slope: 75-100%
Access: Accessible

Image: Gardens by the Bay

Credits:

BAY SOUTH GARDEN MASTERPLAN, LEAD DESIGN & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT:
GRANT ASSOCIATES

ARCHITECT:
WILKINSON EYRE ARCHITECTS

ENGINEER:
ATELIER ONE

ENGINEER:
ATELIER TEN

Image: Grant Associates

See the Project Profile

See the Gardens by the Bay Supertrees Project Profile to view ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in the Greenroofs.com Projects Database.

Screenshot of David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, 2020 Netflix. Gardens by the Bay is featured at the end, quite fittingly.

Did we miss your contribution? Please let us know to add you to the Project Profile.

Would you like one of your projects to be featured on Greenroofs.com? Read how, and remember we have to have a profile first! Submit Your Project Profile.

Love the Earth, Plant a Roof (or Wall)!

By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher & Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summits Host

Watch #VirtualSummit2019 Speaker Videos and EXPO and Speaker Q&A Videos on demand through 2020 with FREE Registration!